U.K. stocks closed higher on Friday, driven by advances in Software & Computer Services, Aerospace & Defense and Mining firms that helped push the market upward at the end of the trading day.
At the London close, the Investing.com United Kingdom 100 index was up 0.31%.
Notable movers
The session's best performers included Relx PLC (LON:REL), which surged 9.90% or 203.13 points to finish at 2,255.13. Advertising and communications company WPP PLC (LON:WPP) gained 5.25% or 13.60 points to close at 272.90. Private equity firm 3I Group PLC (LON:III) rose 5.11% or 167.00 points to end the day at 3,436.00.
By contrast, several prominent names finished lower. Flutter Entertainment PLC (LON:FLTRF) fell 10.89% or 1,143.00 points to close at 9,352.00, slipping to a three-years low. Entain PLC (LON:ENT) declined 4.74% or 28.20 points, ending at 567.00, while NatWest Group PLC (LON:NWG) dropped 2.49% or 14.80 points to 580.20.
Market breadth
On the London Stock Exchange more stocks rose than fell, with 936 advancers compared with 854 decliners. A total of 517 issues finished unchanged.
Commodities and currencies
Commodity markets showed mixed activity. Gold futures for April delivery were higher, up 1.70% or 84.19 to $5,032.59 a troy ounce. In oil, crude for March delivery slipped 0.05% or 0.03 to $62.81 a barrel, while the April Brent contract inched up 0.21% or 0.14 to $67.66 a barrel.
In currency markets, GBP/USD was unchanged 0.20% to 1.36, while EUR/GBP was unchanged 0.15% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.07% at 96.77.
Context and closing note
Friday's session was characterised by concentrated gains among a handful of large-cap names and sector pockets of strength, while several major constituents posted notable declines. The mix of movements in commodities and currencies accompanied the equity changes into the close.